Govt provides aid after freak storm rips roofing off houses, triggers flooding in Linden

…33 residents assisted; 6 temporarily relocated

Several houses in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara- Upper Berbice), have been affected by heavy winds that buffeted the mining town on Tuesday night, ripping off entire roofs of homes in some cases and leaving damaged structures exposed to the elements, even as a heavy downpour of rain brought its discomfiture of flash flooding that caused substantial inundation of the town.
Guyana Times spoke on Wednesday with Town Clerk Lennox Gasper, who highlighted that inclement weather has been a significant challenge in the region over the past weeks.
“This is a situation where we are experiencing torrential downpours, especially in the evening. Given the unpredictable weather pattern, we have been having some flooding, like two or three times earlier, which would have forced an emergency meeting,” he said.
Following Tuesday night’s freak storm, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill and Local Government and Regional Development Minister Sonia Parag, accompanied by officials of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), conducted a walkthrough exercise at several communities in order to aid affected residents.
In this regard, the town clerk revealed that rebuilding efforts are already underway, and that central Government is actively working to source building materials for affected residents.
“A total of 33 residents were given materials and assistance through Government intervention of materials to replace their roofs. They would have opened a line of credit with the hardware stores to be able to supply zinc sheets. Also, contractors were put to work to have those roofs repaired and covered before sundown,” Gasper revealed.
In an effort to ensure that affected residents are back to a state of normalcy as soon as possible, the town clerk highlighted, central Government has already engaged more than 20 contractors from within the mining town to ensure all minor repairs were completed by last evening.
“Well, they had about eighty-something contractors, but I think about sixty were selected, so this is more or less voluntary on their part, but the Government will be providing the zinc sheets,” he said.
Moreover, the town clerk highlighted that about six residents have been relocated from their homes due to the extent of damage those homes have sustained. In those cases, he explained, the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) would be supporting these residents throughout the rebuilding process.
“Those who had serious damages — because the storm resulted in trees falling on people houses, damaging their roof; zinc sheets being blow off; entire roof being blown off; some houses collapsing onto cars…So, there were those extreme cases where families were displaced. They would have gotten serious assistance through the CDC,” he said.
Additionally, Gasper revealed that as part of relief efforts, central Government would have also provided dinner for affected residents, while those whose homes were severely damaged would be housed at a shelter until further notice. Among the materials donated to affected residents were tarpaulins, hygiene products and food hampers.
Meanwhile, in an effort to tackle the issue of flooding in the region, an emergency meeting was held by the Regional Disaster Preparedness Team last Friday. As a result of that meeting, an assessment was done in various communities across the town to improve the drainage and irrigation system within these areas. However, due to the inclement weather, progress on this initiative has been delayed.